


Night

by RayeoftheSunshine



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Gen, Next Gen OCs, grahatober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26856325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RayeoftheSunshine/pseuds/RayeoftheSunshine
Summary: G'raha takes his baby outside to breathe some fresh air, and he thinks about his past, present, and future. For grahatober, prompt 3: night.
Relationships: G'raha Tia | Crystal Exarch & Original Character(s), G'raha Tia | Crystal Exarch/Warrior of Light
Kudos: 11





	Night

Sunflower let out a whimper from her cradle, which made G’raha move before she could let out a full-on wail. Daffodil still slept soundly, thankfully, so it was just him and Sunflower as he left the bedroom. She was crying by the time he started changing her, but he managed to calm her soon enough. Once again he was actually _thankful_ to be powered by the Crystal Tower; it would have been difficult as it was with one child, but adding in a twin? Thanks to the tower, his wife was actually able to _sleep_ more than thirty minutes.

The Exarch stepped out onto the small balcony built into the crystal to breathe fresh air. “The stars are out tonight,” he whispered, and his voice made Sunflower coo in response. “I never thought I’d see this with a baby, especially not mine.” He had never tried taking Lyna out here at night, because the blinding rays of the Light would have done neither of them any favors. But it was dark now, and the streets of the Crystarium were only dimly lit for any late-night wanderers. 

The Light had lost its hold on Norvrandt, and would continue to lose its last footholds bit by bit. Moonflower and her friends had taken down every single Lightwarden, and he knew Ryne was working on restoring the Empty. He doubted they would be rid of sin eaters forever, but he hoped that no one would ever have to be turned into them again. He hoped his daughters would be able to freely explore Lakeland when they were old enough, without fear of being eaten by monsters. His kittens would see the sparkle of stars and wonder what heaven was like, without ever wondering if there even _was_ a such thing as night.

G’raha looked down to his daughter, who had one miniature hand on his thumb. Her red eyes were closed, and her red-violet hair looked black in the darkness. _Mine,_ he thought, and nearly started crying as he kissed her forehead. _My baby._ She and her sister were so beautiful, he could still hardly believe they were _his_. They weren’t even a month old, and he wondered when the incredulous truth would wear off. Part of him hoped it never would; he wanted to look at them when they were ten years old and wonder at how they could be _his_ little kittens.

He had lived his entire life knowing that this wouldn’t be his path, but fate had chosen to throw a wrench in the works and force him to change direction. Not only did he reside over his own territory, he survived the restoration of night to the First. _That_ was something he hadn’t expected, and then, to his amazement, he and his inspiration were _married_. He had fallen more in love with the person behind the hero, and she had chosen him. They were married quickly; he had _tried_ to go slowly, they had _both_ tried, but they found that waiting for something they knew they wanted was a rather silly idea, and so they were wed. If that weren’t enough—and it was, it would always be enough, _more_ than enough—they were now parents of twins. Two perfect little girls, with blood-red eyes and red-violet hair.

_Sunflowers for loyalty and adoration. Daffodils for rebirth. Yellow for happiness, flowers for beauty._

The Crystal Exarch didn’t know how much time he had left with his babies, or his wife. The tower was demanding more and more of him as he tried applying his blood to the auracite; somehow he had managed to hide the growing crystal along his shoulder, but it wouldn’t be that much longer before Moonflower truly realized how much of his left arm was crystal, as well as an increasing part of his torso. He had created an extra vessel for the purpose of practicing the transfer method, but he hadn’t tried experimenting with it yet. And what if that worked, but putting it into his body back in Eorzea did not? How much time did he have left with his family?

He held Sunflower closer to his chest and ran a knuckle across her cheek. “I love you.” _You have no idea how much. I wish I could stay for you. For your sister. I wish I could watch Lyna teach you how to dance. I wish I could watch you play in the grass near the Pendants or listen to Moren tell you a story from his collection in the Cabinet of Curiosity. But the Scions need my help, and I have outlived my time. All I have left is until the moment I take a leap of faith and pray that the gods will be kind just one more time._

After a few more silent moments, he got back to his feet to return to the bedroom. On his way there, he found Moonflower breastfeeding Daffodil; she looked over her shoulder to smile tiredly at him. “She woke up,” she mumbled, and then yawned. “Why are you still dressed?”

“The Crystarium has led me to many late nights,” he reminded her. “I _was_ about to go to bed when I heard Sunflower.” It was true, too. He had left the soul vessels for the night and decided to at least hold Moonflower for a while, if not sleep.

She nodded, not about to question it in the middle of night. Then, mechanically, she began burping the baby in her arms. “Thank you. Maybe we’ll be able to sleep for a whole hour now!” At this she let out a giggle, which told him that she was far more exhausted than she was trying to let on.

He bit back a laugh and then went to put Sunflower down. It didn’t take too much longer for Moonflower to do the same with Daffodil and crawl back into bed. A whole hour with his wife in his arms? That sounded like a perfect gift on borrowed time.

**Author's Note:**

> Mostly a thoughtful piece, I challenged myself to write only a little dialogue. I love dialogue to pieces, but every now and again, I need to try branching out.
> 
> My personal timeline of Shadowbringers is stretched out pretty far, and I do not feel the least bit guilty to say so. You can't just save the world in a week, it's just not _done_. Or possible. Travel time alone should mean it takes more time. I also unabashedly decided to lengthen the time after 5.0 for personal wolexarch development to happen, so all of my fics will reflect this. Probably.
> 
> G'raha and his babies give me life. :) Lyna already shows that he's an excellent father figure/male role model, so I know he'd be an awesome dad.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!


End file.
